I Can Wait
by flashfire11
Summary: Lily Evans is constantly being annoyed and asked out by the smart-aleck, arrogant, no-good James Potter. She knows he's just teasing her, knows it's just a stupid crush he'll grow out of...right?
1. Chapter 1

Lily waited nervously in line as name after name was called. What if she wasn't in the same House as Sev? Or worse, what if the hat didn't call out a House name for her at all?

"Nervous?" asked a voice behind her. Lily spun to see the black-haired boy Sev had argued with on the train. She narrowed her eyes.

"More than you are, obviously," she said disdainfully, looking him dismissively up and down. It was true; one of the black-haired boy's hands were in his pockets, and the other was around a blonde girl. The black-haired boy slipped his arm out from around the girl, who frowned, and held it out to Lily.

"Potter, James Potter," he grinned. Lily didn't shake his hand.

"You're the boy who teased Sev on the train, aren't you?" she frowned, unimpressed. The boy withdrew his hand, the grin sliding off his face.

" 'Sev'? Don't tell me you're friends with that slimeball." Lily took a step towards him, her eyes shooting daggers.

"Don't you _dare _call him a slimeball," she hissed. "You're the one who's the slimeball, Potter."

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily turned around, startled, then regained her composure and slowly walked to the stool. The butterflies that had been inside her stomach just seconds ago rapidly transformed into stampeding wildebeest. She lowered herself onto the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat onto her head. Lily flinched when the Sorting Hat's voice sounded in her ear.

"Hmmm, clever, brilliant mind, perhaps Ravenclaw? No, wait, here's something else…fiery determination, perseverance…well, it's obvious, isn't it? GRYFFINDOR!" Lily stood, carefully putting the hat back on the stool, and ran to the table on the far left. As she went, she glanced back at Sev with a bittersweet smile. He had been watching her go with the most heartbreaking expression, but when she glanced back at him, Sev looked away.

The other boy who had teased Sev on the train, Black, moved up the bench as Lily sat down, to make room. Lily could tell he was trying to make things better between them, but she sat stubbornly with her back to him and folded her arms. The rest of the Sorting went fairly well- until Sev got into Slytherin and that slimeball Potter got into her House. Unfair! At least there were some girls to keep her company. Lily chatted with Alice and Marlene all the way through dinner, but when they got to dessert, she felt someone (more like some_thing_) staring at her.

And of course, it was Potter.

"What do you want now, Potter?" Lily snapped. Potter grinned stupidly at her.

"Just admiring…never mind. Pass me the treacle tart, will you?" Lily pushed the plate towards him, but Potter grabbed her hand before she could pull away. "Go out with me, Evans?" he said, his hazel eyes boring into hers. Alice, Marlene, and Black all _oooohhed_ at the same time. The blonde Potter had his arm around earlier burst into tears over at the Hufflepuff table. Lily pulled her hand away.

"I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on Earth!" she glared at him. Potter's smile faltered.

"Ah well, Evans. I can wait."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry I didn't make an author's note or disclaimer in the last chapter. I'm not so good at that stuff. **

**PhoenixTears1001: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, it is rather early for James to ask out Lily, but I guess I wanted to make it clear that Lily wasn't going to be easy to get. Yeah, I really don't know.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to J.K. Rowling. I'm so good at making clever disclaimers (that was sarcastic)**

"Lily, come on!" Alice's voice carried across the almost empty Great Hall.

"Just a minute!" Lily called back, struggling with the zipper on her bag. It just didn't want to close.

"Lily…" said Marlene anxiously.

"Oh, you two go on ahead," Lily said frantically. "I'll catch up."

"But we've got Transfiguration, McGonagall will kill you if you're late."

"Not me," Lily allowed herself a secret smile. Professor McGonagall had told her in private that she had gotten a hundred and nine percent on the last exam, and a hundred and four on the one before that, and a hundred and six on the one before that. Alice and Marlene exchanged puzzled looks before shrugging and leaving. Lily jiggled her zipper a final time, and it finally slid closed. Hoisting the bag onto her shoulder, she sprinted out of the Great Hall and took the steps on the marble staircase two at a time.

She was just going around the corner when she smacked straight into something very solid and went sprawling on the floor.

"Oh my goodness, Lily I'm so sorry!" Squinting through the haze of pain, Lily saw an outstretched hand and grabbed it. "I didn't mean…you should probably sit down…" Lily put out her hand to lean against the wall for support and touched the back of her head gingerly before looking up.

"You." she narrowed her eyes and took a step back.

"Hey, Evans," Potter grinned, trying to nonchalantly lean back against the wall, but slipping and almost falling flat on the floor. Lily snorted.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to get to Transfiguration, so…." She tried to walk in a wide circle around him, but Potter bounded up and grabbed her arm. Lily stared at him. Potter hastily dropped her arm.

"Well, Evans, I was, um, wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me?" He raised his eyebrows hopefully. Lily looked at him coolly.

"What makes you think that I've changed my mind recently?"

"Have you?"

"No! Dying Sev's robes neon pink does not make you automatically okay in my book!" Lily spun on her heel and stalked away, but Potter grabbed her arm again. "Did you hear me, Potter?!" Lily seethed. "The answer is NO!"

"Aw, come on, Evans." wheedled Potter, and Lily was outraged to see the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "I know you like me somewhere in that cold frozen heart of yours." Lily glared at him so hard he took a step back.

"I will, never, ever like you, Potter," she spat. "Do you think I was joking when I said I would rather go out with a centaur than you?"

Potter's face fell, and Lily almost felt sorry for him before he hitched his trademark grin back on.

"You'll come around, Evans. I can wait."Lily turned her back on him and hurried off to Transfiguration, using all of her control to not bash Potter's head in.

**A/N: Please REVIEW! They are my life! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All rights to J.K. Rowling. **

_**Year Three**_

Hearts pounded in the throats of hundreds of students as they watched the Gryffindor Seeker, Everett Bell, soared neck-and-neck with Jackson Chang of Ravenclaw, eyes focused on the Snitch, hovering a couple yards away from them. Even the commentary had ceased for a bit as everyone stared at the two Seekers. Suddenly the red and gold side of the stands exploded, jumping out of their seats and shouting and cheering as Everett Bell was mobbed by his fellow teammates.

"WE WON! WE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!" Black screamed, jumping up and down on his seat. Alice laughed and started hugging everyone in the vicinity.

"Come on!" Remus had to shout to make himself heard over the roar of the crowd. "Let's go down on the field!" Lily nodded and motioned for Alice, Black, and Pettigrew to follow them down. They danced in a spontaneous conga-line out onto the Quidditch field, followed by many other jubilant Gryffindors.

"Marley!" Lily called out to her friend, breaking away from the conga line and pelting toward her. She and Alice slammed into Marlene, toppling her over.

"We won the cup! _We won the cup,_" breathed Marlene, staring at the sky. Lily playfully punched her.

"Of course you did, you dolt!"

"We WON THE CUP!" Marlene bolted up, throwing her broom in the air. Lily and Alice scrambled up after her, laughing.

"C'mon, Marley, Dumbledore's awarding the trophy!" Alice tugged Marlene over to through the crowd, trying to get to the stands. "Oi! Quidditch champion coming through!" Alice shouted in frustration, trying to clear the way.

"Honestly, if you want to get through this crowd, you should copy us and Prongs," said a voice behind Lily. It was Sirius Black, and on his and Remus's shoulders sat Potter, thoroughly basking in the attention. Pettigrew was too short to be of much help.

"You know, for once in your life, you may have a good idea there, Black." said Lily.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Lily and Alice hoisted Marlene onto their shoulders and pushed their way through the crowd. to the front, where the remainder of the Quidditch team was.

"Go take it, Marlene!" urged Alice.

"ME?!" Marlene looked bewildered. Lily pushed her up right next to Everett Bell.

"Yes, you! You and Potter were the top scorers!" As much as she didn't want to, Lily had to admit that James Potter was a terrific Chaser. Though in her mind, he would never be as good as Marlene.

"Yeah, you too, Prongs." Remus and Black shoved Potter over next to Marlene.

Cheering as Marlene, Bell, and Potter lifted the gleaming Quidditch Cup into the air, the thought occurred to Lily that perhaps James Potter was not half bad.

Lily pushed her way through the crowded common room, trying to get to the girl's dormitory. She'd had enough of the celebration party. She was almost there when a hand spun her around.

"Hey, where ya goin', Evans?" It was Black and Potter, plastic cups in hand.

"Really, I was just trying to get up to the dorm. I need some sleep." said Lily.

"Aww, where's your Gryffindor pride?" scoffed Potter. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You realize we've been partying for four hours straight, right? And seeing as it's midnight, I think I'll go to bed." Lily tried to twist away again, but Black spun her back around.

"Don't worry, Evans, I understand. Some people just aren't the fun partying type like us, eh Prongs?" Potter grinned stupidly back.

"Right, Padfoot."

"That's my man. Listen, I'm gonna go try to find that blondie, something McKinnon."

"Marlene." Lily suggested, trying not to laugh at the though of what would happen to Black if he tried to hit on Marley.

"That one. I'll leave you two to it." He clumsily patted Lily on the shoulder and wandered off into the crowd. Lily started to make her way back to the dorm, but once more Potter blocked her. She sighed.

"What is it, Potter?" Since he had won and done a good job and all, she'd be a little nice.

"Erm…I was just wondering…did you mean it when you said me and Marlene were the best scorers?" Potter fidgeted with his cup. Lily debated her answer for a while before deciding to keep being nice.

"Yeah." She admitted. Potter beamed.

"So will you go out with me, Evans?" Lily almost laughed at Potter's hopeful expression. Did he really think she didn't know what he was up to? Potter was only after her because she was the only girl not worshiping the ground he walked upon.

"Sorry, Potter. You need to upgrade first." She pushed past him towards the dorms, almost not catching what he muttered under his breath.

"Whatever, Evans. I can wait."

**A/N: Please REVIEW! There, I was polite and said please. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Here's chapter four!**

_Year 4_

Alice tugged Lily and Marlene after her out of the Great Hall.

"Ow! Allie, what the heck are you doing?!" Lily frantically tried to get Alice to release her, but to no avail. Her crazy friend was now heading out into the courtyard.

"Alice, are you crazy?" Marlene grumbled, finally freeing herself and Lily from Alice's grip. "It's snowing like mad out here! And I thought you were supposed to be the sane one!" Alice barely paid them any attention. Lily followed her gaze across the courtyard to a tall Gryffindor with light brown hair and a cheerful face, much like Alice's.

"Oh, not again." said Lily. Alice just sighed.

"Oh, he's wonderful."

Lily and Marlene exchanged exasperated looks. Alice had had a new crush recently, on Frank Longbottom, a Gryffindor in the year above them. She talked about nothing else and it was getting very annoying.

"Seriously? You're stalking him again?" said Marlene, yawning. Alice rounded on them.

"Well, it's Valentine's Day, and I've been following him around to see if he's been giving valentines to any other girls!"

"Like he would. That kid is a nerd." Marlene said in a stage whisper. Alice just ignored her and, wiping off the snow, plopped down on a nearby bench, staring at Frank again.

"He's wonderful." She sighed again.

"Who's wonderful? Are y'all talking about me again?" Lily whipped around to see Sirius Black sauntering through the snow towards them.

"You wish," said Marlene. Black just grinned.

"Hey, you guys up for a snowball fight.? I'm getting restless, and that never ends well." He explained.

"Nah," sniffed Marlene, turning away. "I've got better stuff to do than kick your butt, Black."

"Suuuuure. As if you actually could." Black drawled. Marlene whipped back around, sizing him up.

"Is that a challenge?" Black shrugged. "Alright, I'm in." Marlene said.

"Great. What about you, Evans?" Black turned to Lily. She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

"Who else is playing?"

"Me and Jamesie. Remus and Pete are sitting out for now." he replied. Lily sighed and shrugged, casting a last wistful look at Alice.

"I guess it can't hurt."

* * *

"Okay, so here's the plan. We build the fort here. You stay here to guard, while I army-crawl around the left flank to bombard them with custom made aero-dynamic snowballs. After I smash their fort, I will make it back over to our territory and we will have an amazing snow party to celebrate our victory. How's that sound?" Marlene finished. Lily flopped onto her back, scooping up snow and compacting it to form "custom made aero-dynamic snowballs".

"Sounds fine to me," she answered. Marley tended to get a bit carried away when it came to competition, but you couldn't ask for a better partner in snowball fighting. Except for maybe Sirius Black and James Potter. Whatever. Lily and Marley would still beat them.

"GO!" came Black's voice from somewhere in front of her. Marley quickly slithered out of the snow fort and disappeared. Lily continued to pack snowballs, pausing every now and then to listen carefully.

It was pretty quiet, which meant that Marley was probably still sliding around on her stomach, being a ninja and looking for secret entrances to Black and Potter's fort.

Lily risked a glance over the top of the snowy wall at Alice. From here, it looked like she was reading a textbook, but Lily knew that under the pretense of studying, Alice was gazing at Frank again.

"CODE RED! MISSION ABORT! AGENT PEPPER, COMMENCE SEQUENCE NINE IMMEDIATELY!" Marlene's voice shouted. Lily, startled, bolted to her feet and started to fire snowballs at Sirius. Suddenly Remus and Pettigrew joined him. "You fight dirty! Four to two is outnumbered!" screamed Marlene.

"Sucks for you!" yelled Black. Lily was aiming a snowball at him when someone crashed into their fort.

"Sirius, come on, I breached the wall!" said Potter eagerly over his shoulder. Lily quickly shoved her snowball down his coat. "COLLLLDDD!" he shouted as Lily pushed his face into the snow, held his hands behind his back, and sat on him. "Letf miff ubf youtf fool!" Potter said, muffled.

"Don't think so," hummed Lily, tying his hands together using her wand. She grabbed a bunch of snowballs and was about to run out the arch when something cold and wet smacked into her head. She whipped around to see Potter grinning and cursed. Why hadn't she thought to take his wand?! Potter all of a sudden started launching snowballs at her, and without thinking she reacted by throwing more back at him. Lily was actually enjoying herself until she stumbled while bending down to scoop up some snow and suddenly Potter was on top of her with a snowball raised threateningly.

Lily screwed up her face in apprehension, waiting for him to slam it against her face. But she watched, disbelievingly, as Potter, tapped his wand on the snowball, transforming it into a rose. Still grinning, he handed it to her.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Slightly puzzled, Lily asked, "Isn't it a tradition to ask me out and for me to turn you down? Especially on Valentine's Day?" Potter turned to look at her, a smile curving on his lips.

"Why? Do you want me to?" When she didn't reply, he just laughed. "I told you I could wait, Evans." And he ran away towards Black, Remus, Pettigrew and Marley, leaving her alone in the trampled snow with a rose in her hand and confusion in her head.

**A/N: Pleasee review! I'm kind of disappointed about the number of reviews I've gotten on this story and I'm hoping to bring it up! So please review!**


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